Maggie Altschaffl, Business, Technology, and Engineering: The German Way Summer 2024
Although my trip to Germany was an experience I will never forget, there were still challenges that I faced during the trip. The main challenge I had to overcome while being in Germany, was being out of the country for the first time ever and being on my own for that experience. This challenge was something I had never experienced before as it was my first time leaving the country. I was very excited for the opportunity to study abroad, but nervous about being on my own in a country I was not familiar with.
While I was faced with this challenging of being alone in a new country, I found many ways to overcome it and have a great experience studying abroad. One way I was able to overcome my challenge was by being with my friends. I had a few friends who I knew from our sorority at Pitt that were also going on the same trip as me. They had all left the country before and had experience studying abroad which was a main reason I was able to overcome my challenge. They were able to help me with things I had never experienced before, such as going through passport control. Their knowledge of traveling abroad was very helpful and helped with some of the worries I had about flying into and entering a new country.
Another way I was able to overcome my challenge was through making friends with the other students I didn’t already know on the trip. I felt more at home having people on the trip that I was friends with and became friends with. Being able to do things around the city with the people on the trip made it feel comforting and that I was not entirely on my own. I was also able to make friends with some of the students at the University which aided in me overcoming my challenge. The students at the University were able to share things with us that helped make it easier being in a new country. They shared things like what to do in the city, where to get groceries, and fun activities that we could partake in during our time in Germany. Their kindness and help made it easier to adjust being in a new place and easier to overcome the challenges I was faced with. I am glad I was able to overcome this challenge and will now be more experienced when traveling abroad because of my experiences at Pitt.
Leave a Reply